WHATers can dazzle their audience with a lot of WHAT WHAT WHAT between Gen. 1:1 and Rev. 22:21 and, while you're not noticing, quickly sneak in their own WHEN of the rapture and ignore the Bible's WHEN!
WHATers read all of the WHAT details in I Thess. 4:13-18, emphasize the "comfort one another" at the end, and say something like "What a comforting thought that the rapture can happen at any moment BEFORE the tribulation!"
They often add: "It wouldn't be comforting if we had to face the Antichrist." (Maybe they believe a lighthouse wouldn't be comforting to sailors on a dark, stormy night but only when the sun is shining!)
WHATers avoid the next chapter (I Thess. 5) which says that the rapture's "times and seasons" happen WHEN "sudden destruction" (the "destruction" part of the "day of the Lord") happens.
(How can the wicked be destroyed before, or during, the time of their tribulational "reign"? Even their leader, the Antichrist, isn't destroyed until the trib's end!)
Now look at I Cor. 15:51-54. WHATers have a blast with the first half. They dwell on "mystery," read "in a moment" as if it really means "AT ANY MOMENT," spend an inordinate amount of time explaining how fast the "twinkling of an eye" is, and try to prove that "last" (in "the last trump") doesn't really mean "last"!
Seldom do WHATers dare to reveal WHEN we are changed into immortal bodies - but verse 54 dares to when it says our rapturous change occurs WHEN WHEN WHEN "Death is swallowed up" (same as "ended").
Obviously the trib's time of death can't be ended before, or even during, the trib!
And WHATers don't want you to realize that the "Death" quote is a paraphrase of Isa. 25:8 which even Scofield etc. agree is in a posttrib setting!
II Thess. 1:6-10 is further proof that our rapture ("rest" in vs. 7) happens WHEN the wicked are destroyed - and not several years ahead of time!
And Acts 2:34-35 and Acts 3:21 declare that Christ must stay in heaven UNTIL He comes down to earth to destroy the wicked (make them His "footstool") and restore "all things" - so how can He leave heaven ahead of time for a pretrib rapture?
II Tim. 3:14 says we should "vet" our teachers ("knowing of whom thou hast learned them"). You can do this if you Google or Yahoo "Pretrib Rapture Dishonesty."
What I'm wondering is this: WHEN will everyone wake up and realize that a lot of WHAT will never take the place of WHEN?
WHATers read all of the WHAT details in I Thess. 4:13-18, emphasize the "comfort one another" at the end, and say something like "What a comforting thought that the rapture can happen at any moment BEFORE the tribulation!"
They often add: "It wouldn't be comforting if we had to face the Antichrist." (Maybe they believe a lighthouse wouldn't be comforting to sailors on a dark, stormy night but only when the sun is shining!)
WHATers avoid the next chapter (I Thess. 5) which says that the rapture's "times and seasons" happen WHEN "sudden destruction" (the "destruction" part of the "day of the Lord") happens.
(How can the wicked be destroyed before, or during, the time of their tribulational "reign"? Even their leader, the Antichrist, isn't destroyed until the trib's end!)
Now look at I Cor. 15:51-54. WHATers have a blast with the first half. They dwell on "mystery," read "in a moment" as if it really means "AT ANY MOMENT," spend an inordinate amount of time explaining how fast the "twinkling of an eye" is, and try to prove that "last" (in "the last trump") doesn't really mean "last"!
Seldom do WHATers dare to reveal WHEN we are changed into immortal bodies - but verse 54 dares to when it says our rapturous change occurs WHEN WHEN WHEN "Death is swallowed up" (same as "ended").
Obviously the trib's time of death can't be ended before, or even during, the trib!
And WHATers don't want you to realize that the "Death" quote is a paraphrase of Isa. 25:8 which even Scofield etc. agree is in a posttrib setting!
II Thess. 1:6-10 is further proof that our rapture ("rest" in vs. 7) happens WHEN the wicked are destroyed - and not several years ahead of time!
And Acts 2:34-35 and Acts 3:21 declare that Christ must stay in heaven UNTIL He comes down to earth to destroy the wicked (make them His "footstool") and restore "all things" - so how can He leave heaven ahead of time for a pretrib rapture?
II Tim. 3:14 says we should "vet" our teachers ("knowing of whom thou hast learned them"). You can do this if you Google or Yahoo "Pretrib Rapture Dishonesty."
What I'm wondering is this: WHEN will everyone wake up and realize that a lot of WHAT will never take the place of WHEN?
What a simple - but great - idea for an article exposing the collapsing pillar of sand known as latter-day pretribulationism. I'm glad I decided long ago to become a WHENER instead of a WHATER. More and more I am realizing how important you are, Treena, in not only turning out excellent and scholarly writings yourself but also providing a platform for articles by others that make readers think deeply about things that do matter. In doing so you are, in reality, a lighthouse dispelling the awful and utter darkness of the pretrib rapture fantasy which, as MacPherson has brought out, has for a long time been forced to rely on the WHAT, WHAT, WHAT of the rapture because it is totally bankrupt when it comes to proving that its WHEN can literally be found in the Word of God!
ReplyDeleteSome maintain that the timing of the rapture is not a salvation issue, but I have to differ with them. If it is not a salvation issue right now, I am convinced that the pre-tribbers are likely to fall away during the great tribulation. This is what makes it a critical subject for the church in our time and it puts the pre-trib teachers in the "false prophet" camp. Those who are in the business of distorting the scriptures put themselves and others at terrible risk. At the same time, we are all responsible to study the scriptures for ourselves! I like how Dave MacPherson brought out 2 Timothy 3:14 i.e. that we should "vet" our teachers.
ReplyDelete"Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world." 1 John 4:1
"But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of Godb may be complete, equipped for every good work." 2 Timothy 3:14-17.
God bless you Irv.
I think the verses you have quoted put the pre tribulation theory in the bin. If Christ has to remain where the Father seated him in heaven until the end then he won't be sneaking off to catch up believers in a secret manner, will he? I do think this has become a polarising issue in the last few years.
ReplyDeleteThe coming of the Son of Man will be seen by all. I'm rubbish at memorising scripture but you and your readers will recall where it says as lightning is seen from one end of the sky to the other so will it be when He comes. When we read between the lines of the bible to glean what it supposedly says (like the pre trib rapture) we are acting like occultists. Or gnostics might be a more accurate term.